June 26, 2007
LHS Alum to Sing for his Breakfast (2007 Community Education Breakfast)
Contact: Susan Esau, Executive Director, 330-2790 or sesau@usd497

A 1979 Lawrence High School graduate will be singing, and speaking, for a group of community leaders, businesses, and educators at the 2007 Community Education Breakfast, sponsored by the Lawrence Schools Foundation.  Chuck Mead, the co-founder and leader of three-time Grammy nominee BR549, will be the keynote speaker for the Foundation’s 6th annual fundraiser, to be held on Friday, August 31, 2007, at 7:30 a.m. at the Lawrence Holidome.

For the past ten years, Mead has stood at the forefront of the Alternative Country explosion with BR549, and now after five acclaimed albums, two hit EPs and a full decade as the voice of music’s most uncompromising ‘hillbilly band’, he has begun work on his very first solo recordings.

BR549 – named for Junior Samples’ ever-flubbed phone number on Hee Haw –began in the mid-90s on Nashville’s Lower Broadway where the original quintet began playing marathon sets in the window of bar/bootery Robert’s Western World.  BR549 soon drew a rabid following, fevered press and a recording contract with Arista Records, who released the acclaimed EP Live From Robert’s in 1996 followed by their self-titled full-length studio album later that year. They were nominated as Best New Country Group by the Academy Of Country Music, named the same by Rolling Stone, and Grammy nominated for Best Country Performance. The band appeared on Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, Letterman, Conan O’Brien, MTV, VH1, the BBC and beyond. They were invited to tour with country superstars Faith Hill & Tim McGraw and rock icons Bob Dylan and The Black Crowes, and stole the show at major rock festivals throughout Europe and Japan.  Over the next decade, they earned two more Grammy nominations and millions of fans worldwide.

The Foundation hopes to raise $50,000 with this year’s event.  Judy Keller, Foundation Trustee, is Chair of the 2007 Community Education Breakfast.  Businesses, organizations, and individuals interested in sponsoring a table at the event are encouraged to contact Susan Esau at 330-1941 as soon as possible.

The Lawrence Schools Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that raises money to enrich the education of the students in the Lawrence Public Schools.  Through the generation and management of gifts, the Foundation seeks to promote and enhance effective early childhood education, innovative teaching and learning opportunities, recognition of outstanding teachers and staff, and encouragement of student achievement.

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